Improvement in fire-escapes



FIRE-ESCAPES.

N0. 194,507, Patente. Aug. 21,1877;

N.PETERS. PHOT&IJTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

UNIIED STATES PATEN'I OFFICE.

JAMES JEROME VAN WIE, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR T0 HIMSELF, WILLIAM P.ALLEN, AND GEORGE A. FIFIELD, OF SAME PLACE.

IIVIPRVEMENT IN FIRE-ESCAPES.

Speeifieation forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,507, dated August2l, 1877; application fi1ed June 14, 1877.

taohed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section of the same; and Fig. 4is a waist-strap with suspenders, the means wbereby the body is attaohedto the said frietion-slide.

'lhe nature of my invention oonsists in certain construotions,eombinations, and arrangements of parts, hereinafter fully deseribed andspeoifieally olaimed, whereby a reversible fireesea.pe is produeed,whioh 1nay very readily be fastened for use, and whioh, by reversing it,may be repeatedly used; whioh also, on aooount of its simpleoonstrnotion, is not liable to get out of order, and the deseent ofwhieh may be easily regulated by the operator by using his own hand as afriotion-brake.

In the drawings, A represents a reversible friotionslide, eonsisting oftwo flat side bars, A, l1aving at eaoh end an eye, 01, and united by anurnber of short stout oross-rods, a, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The eyesd are arranged in pairs, which project outwardly from the slide on eaehof the bars A, as shown, so that the end of the slide whioh happens 1:0be turned down always has a servioeable eye at eaeh side of thefriction-slide.

A rope, B, of suitable size and strength, is laoed through the ntervalsbetween the short rods a/, as shown in Fig. 3. The resistanee ofi'eredby the rope to the many short bends ereated by the said laeing, and theresistance of the friotion between the said rope and the rods a, whenthe slide A is moved upon the rope, togetl1er serve to allow a safe,though speedy, deseent of the slide A with a man of average weightattaohed, whioh, however, may be retarded at will by applying the bandto the rope as a frietion-brake.

T0 faoilitate the attachment of the body of a person to the slide A, andto make snob attaehment more reliable, a belt, C, is buekled around thewaist, and by means of suspenders 0, witb snaps 0, is hooked to thelower eyes al of the slide A.

The suspending-belt 0 and the slide A, with the rope B, are kept in theroom from whieh the descent isintended to be effeoted in case of danger,and if it be a bed-room, they should be ander or near the bedstead, inas handy a position as possible.

When the escape by stairway or elevator is out off by fire, the personso threatened fastens the beltC aronnd his waist, with the straps f inthe eroteh of his legs, as in Fig. 1, and seeurely attaohes the shortend of the rope to a bedstead, or to snob suitable fixture. as maybefound in the room, and throws the long end of the rope out the window.He then hooks the snaps 0 in the eyes d, steps out; of the window, andsuspends himself upon the slide A. He immediately begins to desoend,

and by taking a loose hold on the rope B below the slide A, he will keephis body in upright postion. If the deseent be too rapid, the otherhand, or both hands, may take a tolerably firrn hold on the rope, thusonly allowng the slide A to move down witli the desired speed.

When one person bas safely arrived on the ground, and divested himselfof the belt G, anotber person in the burning building may immediatelypull up the rope, untasten the end whieh was tied, and throw it out ofthe window, and fasten the end he has pulled up, (with the slide A andbelt 0,) and in a suitable manner tie the belt around him, and deseendin the same manner as the first person, with the only diierenee that theslide A is now reversed, so that he suspends hinnself on the oppositepair of eyes d.

T0 faoilitate the 'astening of the rope B it may be provided at eaehendwith a hook or a ring, or both, so that an instantaneous attaohmentof the rope Lo any suitable fixtnre witbin the room or building may beeffected.

It is advisable for every person who desires to use my invention topraotiee with it, and aoeording to his weight use either all the rods 0as rope-deflectors and frction-brakes, 01 omt as many of them asnecessary to insure his safe yeh speedy descent. This accomplished, theapparatus is ready for his use,

and may be kept s0 in a convenient place untl danger calls for itsapplieation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, aud desire t0 secureby Letters Patent, is

The reversible fire-eseape, adapted f01 being fitted upon a single rope,and consisting of vwo side pieces, Wh ieh are rgidly astened together byseparabed round bars, and having their upper and lower endsbentoutwardly, aud perforated, all in the manner and for the purposeheren described.

Witness my hand in the matter of my applcation for a patent fox afireeseape ladder ths 9th day of June, A. D. 1877.

JAMES JEROME VAN WIE.

Wtnesses:

W. K. BROWN, E. B. LEWIS.

